Originally posted by Darth Jello I mean wasn't there some book or some quote that said that one of the reasons Anakin fell and the sith/empire took over was because the Jedi got so far up their own asses with orthodoxy, ritual, and strict adherence that couldn't effectively respond to modern challenges, to say nothing of a war on three fronts?

Nothing official like that, no. It's a popular fan-ish sort of belief based on a lazy rejection of authority and GL's philosophy.

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"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"

If you disagree with his interpretation of Balance, that is fine, but Star Wars reflects his vision, not yours.

Lucas' statements in interviews seem to describe the Force as two-sided in its natural state. This is supported by Mortis. What I am referring to here is Lucas' vision, not mine. This makes more sense than fans interpreting balance to mean "all of one thing and none of the other".

Originally posted by Darth Luminous It may have been "pointed out many times" but it's still wrong. Lucas never said anything like that.

But if you claim that he did, what is the source? Where did he say it? Is there a link?

Lucas' statements in interviews seem to describe the Force as two-sided in its natural state. This is supported by Mortis. What I am referring to here is Lucas' vision, not mine. This makes more sense than fans interpreting balance to mean "all of one thing and none of the other".

Before the Mortis episodes, Lucas did always claim restoring balance to the force was destroying the Sith and all evil and having the Light Side prevail.

That was stated in the making of ROTS as well as numerous other interviews.

Lucas is inconsistent in his statements. There's no getting around that.

Originally posted by DARTH POWER
Before the Mortis episodes, Lucas did always claim restoring balance to the force was destroying the Sith and all evil and having the Light Side prevail.

Sometimes, like when he refers to Imperials as Nazis, it's unwise to take Lucas too literally. ROTS indicates only that balancing the Force involves destroying the Sith. "Getting rid of evil in the universe" should be understood to refer to the dominant evil represented by the Sith and the Empire. Not all evil. In the AOTC DVD commentary Lucas says that the Force goes out of balance because evil is taking over, not because of its mere existence. Do you think that in the aftermath of ROTJ there is no evil in the universe anywhere? That the surviving inhabitants of the galaxy somehow no longer possess the capacity for evil? The existence of at least some evil is an unavoidable consequence of free will. How could the very existence of evil be scrubbed from the cosmos, without some kind of universal mind control? We are given no reason to assume any such thing takes place.

And that's just in reference to one quote - which says nothing about "having the Light Side prevail". The Force in balance is not one side of itself, and Lucas never said that it was, anywhere. The very concept falls apart. As an energy field generated by all living things the Force should be both good and bad, "light" and "dark". Balance does not mean "all of one thing and none of the other", which would be the exact opposite of balance.

"I wanted to have this mythological footing because I was basing the films on the idea that the Force has two sides, the good side, the evil side, and they both need to be there."
- Lucas, quoted in the Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2002 ( before Mortis )

What was stated? That balancing the Force requires destroying the Sith, something that is sufficiently evident from the film? Or something else? What is the exact quote? Does it say anything about the sides of the Force at all? Probably not.

My take on these episodes is this is were Anikin fails to live up as the chosen one. So he was either 1 not the actual chosen one or 2 the prophesy is not absolute. He rejects his role as the chosen one by not staying. And everything that follows is a consequence of that decision.

I never understood the whole light side dark side thing anyways. To me it always seemed there should just be the force. Light or dark side should simply be about who wields that power and how they use it. Not like it is a coin where you have either light side (heads) or dark side (tails). Power is just power and it has no will. It is how you use it that makes it good or bad.

If the midi-chlorians wanted an end to the force being used for destructive purposes they could simply shut off access to whomever they wish. Or at least I would assume so. If they could impregnate a woman missing half the DNA required to do so it would seem a simple task to stop someone frome channeling some mystical cosmic energy through them.

[QUOTE=15879011]My take on these episodes is this is were Anikin fails to live up as the chosen one. So he was either 1 not the actual chosen one or 2 the prophesy is not absolute. He rejects his role as the chosen one by not staying.

He fulfills the prophecy by what he does in ROTJ, not by staying in Mortis. "Ghosts of Mortis" reinforces this: "You are the chosen one._You have brought balance to this world._Stay on this path, and you will do it again for the galaxy."

[QUOTE=15879011]I never understood the whole light side dark side thing anyways. To me it always seemed there should just be the force.
[QUOTE=15879011]Power is just power and it has no will. It is how you use it that makes it good or bad.

The Force is not just power; the Force has something referred to as a will.

"There are two halves of the Force of Others. One is positive and will help you if you learn how to use it. But the other half will kill you if you aren’t careful. This negative side of the Force is called the Bogan, which is where the expression came from, and it is the part that is used by the Dark Lords to destroy their opponents. Both halves are always present." - Ben, "The Star Wars - From the Adventures of Luke Starkiller - Third Draft"

"Jedi and Sith wield the Ashla and Bogan. The light and the dark." - Bendu

"What you felt in the cave is merely a portion of what the dark side now holds.” - Qui-Gon ( Force ghost )